Daemeterhttp://www.daemeter.org/feed This site is underconstructionen-enmail@me.comCopyright 2018How does RSPO certification support the implementation of zero deforestation palm oil in Indonesia?http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/57 http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/57The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) achieved a significant milestone recently, with 20% of global palm oil production certified by RSPO in 2017. Questions remain, however, concerning just how much RSPO certification conserves tropical forest and prevents peat land conversion and fires.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds some light on how voluntary certification addresses these impacts.

The study shows that RSPO certification reduced but did not eliminate deforestation. It was found that certified plantations in Indonesia conserved at least 21 square kilometres of forests that would otherwise have been legally deforested.

The authors found that some levels of deforestation and fire occurred in certified plantations before and after certification. However, RSPO-certified plantations had lower deforestation and fire rates compared to non-certified plantations. No differences in extent of peat development were observed.

Most previous efforts by scientists to quantify deforestation levels in certified plantations were constrained by data scarcity, including certified plantation location data. Using publicly available plantation audit reports, they digitized plantation boundaries and combined this with deforestation maps derived from satellite images between 2000 and 2015. The study applied statistical analyses to compare and contrast past and future trends, controlling for different local conditions such as elevation and proximity to roads.

The authors of the study, which includes a member of the Daemeter team, make several closing points: (a) that RSPO needs to expand its membership to reach more members of the palm oil industry; (b) that RSPO needs to expand its technical and resource capacity to monitor and eliminate deforestation and peat development from RSPO member plantations, and (c) that removing policy barriers to improving these impacts will be needed in the long term.

For the complete publication, see here. Gary Paoli of Daemeter advised study approaches, contributed writing and practical perspectives throughout the study period.

]]>2017-12-20 15:34:07Steps towards sustainable finance for community forest management in the Heart of Borneohttp://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/55 http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/55The Sustainable Forest and Biodiversity Management in Borneo project is funded by the Asian Development Bank (TA-8331-INO) and implemented by the Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Directorate of Ecosystem Services and Conservation Areas (DESCA) with technical assistance from LTS International, Daemeter Consulting and GOPA. Since January 2016 the project has been working at two sites in North and West Kalimantan to develop pilot projects for sustainably financed community forest management.

Over the last 18 months field teams have been working with village communities in Nanga Lauk Village in Kapuas Hulu District, and Punan Long Adiu Village in Malinau District, to understand the local drivers of deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss and develop management activities to address them. In Nanga Lauk project activities are focused on their recently approved Village Forest (Hutan Desa) and a surrounding area of production forest that the village hopes can also be brought under community management. The community in Punan Long Adiu has been working since 2012 towards recognition of their customary community territory and it is hoped that the project can help secure legal recognition of this area as Hutan Adat.

The two pilot project villages have different deforestation and degradation drivers and distinct management approaches have been developed to enable the communities to address them. In both villages the approaches include formalising management rights and applying for licences to enable the communities to benefit from payments for ecosystem services (PES) and the sale of greenhouse gas emission reduction certificates, since both project sites have high biodiversity value and the potential to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Both villages will also formalise their village regulations relating to forest resource use, and deploy forest patrol and monitoring teams to police the area and keep track of forest condition and key biodiversity indicators.

To provide a link to long term, sustainable finance the villages are both seeking to develop projects certified by the Plan Vivo Standard, and the Verified Conservation Area Standard. If successful these projects will be the first to achieve this dual certification, which it is hoped will help to attract finance from funders with an interest in biodiversity conservation as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and delivering livelihood benefits to the participating communities. An important milestone towards this aim was reached this week as both projects received approval of Project Idea Notes from the Plan Vivo Foundation. The approved documents in English and Bahasa Indonesia can now be accessed through the Plan Vivo website.

Over the coming months the project team will continue to work in both villages developing management plans and village regulations, and providing training and support to initiate forest patrol and monitoring activities. It is hoped that by the end of the year the project team will be able to hand over full control to the local project coordinator organisations - PRCF Indonesia for Nanga Lauk and Lembaga Pemerhati dan Pemberdayaan Dayak Punan Malinau (LP3M) for Punan Long Adiu, who will be able to continue working with the communities to protect their forests, and access financial support from Verified Conservation Area funders and the sale of Plan Vivo certificates.

For further information about the projects and how you can support them please contact the team via info@daemeter.org.

]]>2017-12-14 09:08:02Daemeter, Proforest organise RSPO-endorsed Lead Auditor training for 3rd timehttp://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/51 http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/51After a successful second round last year, Daemeter and Proforest are organising another Lead Auditor training course in Bogor, Indonesia, on 17 – 21 Oct. 2016. The course is designed for auditors wishing to carry out auditing for the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) producer standard, for company staff in charge of meeting RSPO requirements, and any interested stakeholders (e.g. NGOs, government officials) wanting to learn about RSPO standards and systems.

The course includes lectures, workshops, a practical audit exercise and a written examination. Endorsed by the RSPO, the course provides lead auditors and other participants with an in-depth knowledge of the RSPO Principles and Criteria and their implementation. It focuses on application of the RSPO Certification Systems and audit practice requirements to ensure consistent and appropriate audit decision making.

The course trainers are themselves qualified Lead Auditors and experts on specific topic areas (e.g. HCV and FPIC experts) from Proforest and Daemeter with extensive RSPO experience. The course will bring together their collective experiences in the planning and implementation of the RSPO and builds on the wealth of local experience we have working in Southeast Asia.

Course overview

The course will run for 5 days and consists of:

3.5 days classroom tutorials, exercises and workshops,

1 day practical audit exercise in an oil palm estate, and

0.5 day for exam and audit exercise reporting.

The course will be conducted in Bahasa Indonesia. All participants are expected to have some basic knowledge of the RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C). A questionnaire will be provided and must be completed before the course.

Course outline

First endorsed by RSPO in March 2008, the course provides insights to implementation complexities via real case studies. Key topics covered include an overview of the RSPO P&C and supply chains for CPO mills only, as well as the core environmental and community requirements of the standard, as outlined below:

Overview of the environmental issues in plantations, HCV and biodiversity in existing plantations and new developments,

Overview of the social issues within RSPO P&C, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Labour standards,

]]>2016-11-08 00:00:00Jurisdictional Approaches to Reducing Palm Oil Driven Deforestation in Indonesiahttp://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/53 http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/53Daemeter evaluates feasibility of applying the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to eliminate deforestation from Indonesia’s palm oil sector and promote wider improvements to land governance. This study is conducted based on extensive stakeholder interviews, field research, and geospatial analysis to understand JA challenges and opportunities, describes distinctive features of the JA, where it’s being trialed, lessons to date, and recommendations for where and how to scale JA experimentation to accelerate transformational change.]]>2016-11-05 21:50:03HCV Assesors training course in Bogor, Indonesia, on 14 - 18 Dec. 2015http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/50 http://daemeter.org/en/news/detail/50High Conservation Values (HCV) are biological, ecological, social or cultural values which are considered significant or important at a national, regional or global scale. HCV is integrated into the principles and criteria of many certification schemes. These schemes that deal with production situations in natural landscapes. Furthermore HCV is included in the purchasing and investment policies of many financial institutions, traders, retailers and distributors of wood, paper and agricultural commodities. The RSPO requires that an HCV assessment must be undertaken prior to new planting. This assessment must be led by a Lead Assessor who is certified by the HCVRN - ALS. Daemeter and Remark Asia are institutions based in Indonesia which are approved to conduct HCV training. Their joint training modules and workshops combine simulated HCV assessments based on HCVRN guidelines.

Course Topics:

ALS certification process

HCV assesors and assessment process

Information exchange on Tier Rating

HCV Scoping Study (literature and desktop study)

HCV assesment preparation and planning

HCV identification

Decision making and analisis

Reporting

The course will be conducted in Bahasa Indonesia. All participants are expected to have some basic knowledge of the "Common Guidance for HCV Identification". A pre test quiz will be provided and must be completed before the course.

For the course outline and other information, please download the brochure and form registration.

]]>2015-11-18 08:28:27Ecosystem Restoration and REDD+ project development http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/21 http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/21Ecosystem Restoration and REDD+ project development ]]>2013-07-17 11:47:35Stakeholder analysis and engagement strategy http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/13 http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/13Stakeholder analysis and engagement strategy ]]>2013-07-17 11:45:33Green economic development policy http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/1 http://daemeter.org/en/service/detail/1Green growth and low carbon development ]]>2013-07-17 11:23:42Jurisdictional Approaches to Sustainable Land Use in Indonesia: What is it, why pursue it and how to build onehttp://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/65 http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/65The paper sharpens and updates a selection of concepts introduced in our JA report published last year to raise awareness or understanding around JA.

The reports concludes (1) Why pursue a Jurisdictional Approach (JA)?; (2) Definition of JA; and (3) How to build a JA to promote sustainable land use.

Our main goal is to continue raising awareness/understanding around what is a JA, why it holds potential, and what to consider in building one. Like most our publication, the audience for this is likely to be wide, from donors and NGOs to companies and government.

]]>2017-11-28 14:50:54RSPO-endorsed Lead Auditor training in Tanjung Pandan, Indonesia, on 24 – 28 July 2017http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/64 http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/64The 5-day Lead Auditor training course is designed for auditors wishing to carry out auditing for the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) producer standard, for company staff in charge of meeting RSPO requirements, and any interested stakeholders (e.g. NGOs, government officials) wanting to learn about RSPO standards and systems. The course includes lectures, workshops, a practical audit exercise and a written examination. Endorsed by the RSPO, the course provides lead auditors and other participants with an in-depth knowledge of the RSPO Principles and Criteria and their implementation. It focuses on application of the RSPO Certification Systems and audit practice requirements to ensure consistent and appropriate audit decision making.

The course trainers are themselves qualified Lead Auditors and experts on specific topic areas (e.g. HCV and FPIC experts) from Proforest and Daemeter with extensive RSPO experience. The course will bring together their collective experiences in the planning and implementation of the RSPO and builds on the wealth of local experience we have working in Southeast Asia.

Course overview

The course will run for 5 days and consists of:

3.5 days classroom tutorials, exercises and workshops,

1 day practical audit exercise in an oil palm estate,

and 0.5 day for exam and audit exercise reporting.

The course will be conducted in Bahasa Indonesia. All participants are expected to have some basic knowledge of the RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C). A questionnaire will be provided and must be completed before the course.

Course outline

First endorsed by RSPO in March 2008, the course provides insights to implementation complexities via real case studies. Key topics covered include an overview of the RSPO P&C and supply chains for CPO mills only, as well as the core environmental and community requirements of the standard, as outlined below:

Overview of the environmental issues in plantations,

HCV and biodiversity in existing plantations and new developments,

Overview of the social issues within RSPO P&C, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Labour standards,

]]>2017-06-06 17:09:15Cost of Social Conflict in Oil Palmhttp://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/63 http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/63Material impacts arising from social conflict have long been appreciated by industry. Yet, managers in oil palm companies have lacked sufficient financial data to make the business case for investing in social engagement as part of the development planning practice. To address this, Daemeter was commissioned by the Conflict Resolution Unit of IBCSD to quantify the costs of social conflict in the palm oil sector.

Using data from conflicts in five plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra, Daemeter calculated financial values for direct and indirect costs and loss of value from tangible and intangible assets. These data were supplemented with a dataset that chronicled 174 instances of conflicts in West, Central and East Kalimantan.

The report concludes that the cumulative costs of social conflict are significant, undervalued and can pose a serious risk to investment return. Conflict also imposes material costs on communities and local government. We found that the tangible costs of social conflict range from USD 70,000 to USD 2,500,000, the largest of these resulting from lost income due to operational shut-downs and costs of staff time re-assigned to address conflict.

The study also shows that when conflict occurs, the average annual per hectare costs of conflict, considering tangible costs only, are equal to 65% of total operational costs per hectare. These costs also represent 132% of annualized investment costs on a per hectare basis, considering the affected hectares only.

Intangible or “hidden” costs, are those costs that are not expected at the onset of the conflict. These costs are associated with the risks and unforeseeable consequences that conflicts may create. Considering four types of intangible cost – (1) reputational damage; (2) recurrence (or escalation) of conflict; (3) violence to property, and (4) violence to people (threatened or actual– the report determines that intangible costs may range from USD 600,000 to USD 9,000,000 per conflict event.

The report concludes with recommendations for consideration by growers, buyers, the government and civil society organizations. Highlights include:

Companies should strengthen their conflict management policies and procedures, including the design of KPIs and other incentives to motivate and reward socially responsible practices among their staff.

More data is needed to deepen our knowledge base on conflict progression pathways, as a basis to design effective conflict mitigation strategies.

Drawing upon experiences to date, Best Practices for conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution should be developed, including an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of different approaches to avoid or resolve conflict.

Districts where Jurisdictional Approaches are being trialed could offer opportunities for piloting large scale conflict mitigation and resolution efforts directly supported by local authorities

Companies should examine their timelines and approach to social engagement, especially during land acquisition and development stages, to understand how this affects the risk of future conflict.

]]>2017-01-21 19:24:59Indonesian Oil Palm Smallholder Farmershttp://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/56 http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/56Daemeter announces publication of a series of three Working Papers on Indonesian smallholder oil palm farming, based on field research and outreach over the past two years. The goal of the series is to increase understanding of smallholder oil palm farmers, including their abundance and importance to production across Indonesia; operating models; access to finance; economic, business, and legal challenges; and impacts on forests and the environment. The research fosters more informed discussion on how farmer support programs can be designed, and how smallholder investments could be channeled to improve yields while managing risks of smallholder deforestation.

The first paper provides an overview of smallholder farmers in Indonesia, describing (i) their contribution to production and geographic spread across Indonesia, (ii) a proposed typology of farmer organizational models, and (iii) an overview of farmer needs, potential impacts on the environment and options to address them. The paper is a useful primer for readers new to the subject, and offers novel insights for more experienced practitioners.

The second paper describes major sources of smallholder finance, and the terms and conditions associated with them, followed by discussion of financing gaps and challenges to filling them. The study highlights a genuine need to enhance farmer access to credit, especially long-term investment credit, through better alignment of terms and conditions with farmer realities, including use of non-traditional credit indicators or forms of collateral. To ensure sustainable outcomes, credit instruments must be combined with safeguards to manage risk of stimulating farm expansion into forested areas.

The third paper addresses deforestation concerns, providing an overview of environmental impacts potentially linked to farmers, and examining how popular tools and approaches used for managing land use impacts could be applied to farmers. We draw interim conclusions on the most promising strategies, and highlight questions to foster more informed, critical discussion of this often times controversial topic.

The main findings and recommendations of the series are compiled in a Synthesis. Our research shows that oil palm smallholders are numerous, highly diverse, and widely distributed across Indonesia, pointing to the need for targeted research to better understand how to provide them with effective support, and how to manage impacts on the ground. The series will foster more informed discussion on how farmer support programs can be designed, how to increase farmer access to credit, and how to manage risks of deforestation. Addressing these issues will require further research, outreach and, most importantly, scaled up experimentation with real pilots in the field.

]]>2016-11-03 17:39:04Jurisdictional Approaches to Reducing Palm Oil Driven Deforestation in Indonesiahttp://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/55 http://daemeter.org/en/publication/detail/55Daemeter announces a new report on feasibility of applying the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to eliminate deforestation from Indonesia’s palm oil sector and promote wider improvements to land governance. Recent policy developments and revisions to Indonesia’s legal framework, together with zero deforestation pledges by major supply chain actors, provide a promising basis for accelerating transformation of Indonesia’s palm oil sector to a high yield, low impact production model. Yet, experience to date shows that implementing corporate commitments fully will require pro-active engagement with government at multiple levels to overcome barriers and mainstream new models of palm oil development. The JA offers a platform for achieving this.

The report presents results of a Scoping Study addressing:

Goals of the JA and how it works

Aspects of Indonesia’s legal framework and political environment that affect JA success

How the JA is being applied in Indonesia and elsewhere, and lessons learned to date

Considerations for the design of an palm oil focused JA at the district or province level

Assessment of geographies where JA experimentation should be prioritized

The study included extensive stakeholder interviews, field research, and geospatial analysis to better understand JA opportunities and challenges at the jurisdictional level, and to prioritize provinces and districts for JA experimentation based on threats to forests and peat, local governance capacity and perceived entry points for engagement. One important finding of the study is that while the JA holds potential for achieving durable improvements in land governance, and while many sub-national leaders have committed to support JA activities, current incentives for key government actors to participate actively are weak. This reflects political support for sectoral expansion and resistance to forces perceived to impede this. We recommend actions that prospective JA proponents could usefully take to improve incentives, increase JA readiness at the jurisdiction level, and experiment with specific approaches to JA establishment.

]]>2016-11-03 17:22:38HCV and HCS assessments on Cargill’s new plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesiahttp://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/71 http://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/71Major palm oil company Cargill recently completed the acquisition of new operations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The purchase adds approximately 50,000 hectares of contiguous, planted smallholder and company land adjacent to the company’s existing palm oil operations in the province.

Daemeter is assisting Cargill to strengthen social and environmental performance of the plantations, beginning with baseline assessments, including field surveys to identify High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) areas for protection. These steps are being by Cargill as part of its commitment to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and to ensure compliance with its own No Deforestation pledge under its Sustainable Palm Oil Policy launched in July 2014.

]]>2015-02-10 10:38:34Study on key market demands for palm oil sustainability and RSPO’s responsehttp://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/70 http://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/70Consumer demands for sustainability in palm oil are shifting. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the world’s leading certification system for sustainable palm oil, commissioned Daemeter to conduct an independent study to define key market demands and describe how RSPO is addressing them.

Daemeter surveyed hundreds of articles related to palm oil sustainability published in the past year in eight leading online media and found that deforestation, GHG emissions, and biodiversity topped the list of issues most frequently. Social issues, including safeguards for Indigenous People and human rights, were also highlighted, alongside certification processes and traceability.

The study found the RSPO standard and supporting systems speak to all six issues, and the approach meets market demands for some issues but not all. The RSPO is aware of issues on which delivery lags behind demands, and has committed to continue strengthening systems and improving performance. Most urgently needed are published studies to demonstrate and monitor effectiveness and impact of the RSPO.

To read and download the summary results of the study, see here. Daemeter also prepared a 5-minute video to highlight the study, which you can watch here.

]]>2015-02-10 09:28:08Challenges and opportunities in Indonesia's legal framework for achieving zero deforestation in the palm oil sectorhttp://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/69 http://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/69Legal and regulatory changes have taken place at a remarkable pace in Indonesia’s agriculture and forestry sectors in the past 18 months. At the same time, mounting pressure on supply chain actors to reform sourcing policies has triggered unprecedented commitments to decouple palm oil from deforestation, peat drainage, and exploitation.

Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) and Daemeter are completing a systematic review of key legal, regulatory, and governance changes over this period to understand implications for advancing sustainability in the palm oil sector. The study aims to create a better understanding of how the evolving regulatory framework creates opportunities for eliminating deforestation and shape pursuit of a holistic approach to reducing deforestation.

The study is a follow up to a comprehensive review by Daemeter and partners in 2013 describing how decision making in Indonesian palm oil is affected by legal and regulatory framework governing behavior of key actors. To read and download this earlier study, see here.

]]>2015-02-02 21:35:05RSPO training and benchmark self-assessments in Myanmarhttp://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/68 http://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/68Myanmar is home to vast tracts of tropical forests that are rich of biodiversity. Fauna & Flora International (FFI), in collaboration with Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and Government of Taninthayi Region, is operating a program to promote sustainable agriculture and secure long-term protection of key biodiversity areas in the Sundaic sub-region in the country. This project includes raising awareness about the principles of sustainable palm oil production among stakeholders in the plantation sector.

Daemeter developed a tool for conducting benchmarked self-assessment to identify gaps in compliance with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria, and is training oil palm companies in Myanmar on how to use it. After the training, Daemeter also mentored two oil palm companies in the self-assessment process designed to better align practices with RSPO guidelines. The project is expected to increase key stakeholder understanding on sustainability in oil palm and ways to attain it.

]]>2015-02-02 11:31:24Assessment of biomass residue availability in Surabayahttp://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/67 http://daemeter.org/en/project/detail/67The project aimed to support a private company in estimating the amount, price and sustainability of woody biomass residues available over time within the Surabaya area in East Java province, Indonesia. This study included conducting 44 interviews with actors in wood processing industries (primary and secondary industries) spread throughout a potential supply zone and ranging from small to large industries. The team also collected and analyzed data from national and local governments to provide an overview of the distribution of wood in East Java.

Associated with this study was a risk analysis relating to wood from either non-sustainable or illegal sources. This analysis used the industries that were interviewed as sample for predicting legality and sustainability risks as well as generating a risk profile associated with wood from the Indonesian provinces that supply East Java.